Title: Agreement between the Government of Finland and Norway on the transfer from the course of the Näätämo (Neiden) river to the cource of the Gandvik river of water from the Garsjoen, Kjerringvatn and Forstevannene lakes Parties: Finland, Norway Basin: Näätämo, Gandvik Date: 4/25/1951 Finland-Norway

AGREEMENT1 BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF FINLAND AND NORWAY ON THE TRANSFER FROM THE COURSE OF THE Näätämo (NEIDEN) RIVER TO THE COURSE OF THE GANDVIK RIVER OF WATER FROM THE GARSJÖEN, KJERRINGVATN AND FÖRSTEVANNENE LAKES, SIGNED AT OSLO ON 25th APRIL 19512

Whereas, in connexion with the operation of the electric power station to be built at Gandvik in Finnmark county, Norway, it is deemed desirable to transfer from the river Kallo, a tributary of the Näätämo river, to the course of the Gandvik river, water from the Garsjöen and Kjerringvatn lakes and, if necessary, from Lake Förstevannene in the Sör-Varanger commune, with catchment areas of about forty-one, twenty-three and fifty-one square kilometres respectively;

And whereas such a transfer is not likely to bring about any appreciable increase in the flow of the Näätämo river and is therefore unlikely to interfere to any appreciable degree with the use of the Näätämo river for transport or timber floating or with the upstream and downstream movement of fish, to the detriment of fishing in the Inari commune in Finland,

The Government of Finland and Norway have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1. The Government of Finland shall raise no objection to the closing of the natural outflow of the Garsjöen, Kjerringvatn and Förstevannene lakes by dams or otherwise, or against the diversion of water from these lakes through pipes to Fuglevatn or any of its tributaries.

ARTICLE 2. To offset any inconvenience which the transfer of water referred to in article 1 could cause the inhabitants along the banks of the Näätämo river, the Governments shall take the following measures:

(a) The Government of Norway shall take steps to facilitate the movement of salmon upstream past Koltaakoski on the Näätämo river so that the fish can gain access to the upper reaches of the river.

The plans for the installation shall be laid before fishery experts designated by the Government of Finland, for their opinion.

The work shall be carried out at the expense of the Government of Norway as soon as possible after the entry into force of this Agreement.

(b) The Government of Finland shall arrange for the removal of a number of large boulders and holms lying in the stretch of about four kilometres along the Näätämo river between the confluence of the Kallo and Näätämo rivers and the frontier between Finland and Norway and obstructing timber-floating.

(c) The Government of Norway shall compensate the Government of Finland for any loss of water power which may be caused as a result of this Agreement and for the cost of the clearing operations referred to under (b) above, by an over-all payment which has been fixed at 15,000 Norwegian kronor.

(d) The Governments of Finland and Norway shall try as soon as possible to reach agreement on uniform conservation and similar measures for the protection and care of the fish in the Näätämo river.

1 Came into force on the day of its signature.

2 Finlands Författningssamlings. Fördagasserie. Överenskommelser Med Främmande Makter, 1951, no. 8, p. 24 (translated from the Finnish by the Secretariat of the United Nations).